1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a computer-based method and apparatus for trading cargo capacity and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for receipt of electronically posted bids and asks for carrier services, and for an optimized route building matching thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is probable that commercial shippers and arbitrageurs frequently search the market, to some degree or extent, to find the lowest cost commercial carriers while, on the other hand, commercial carriers will shop their services to the commercial shippers who pay the highest prices. It is further believed, however, that the market search and shopping of services will frequently entail a high and repetitive search cost. In addition, due to the probable limitations of the known types of market search and shopping methods used by general commercial shippers and carriers, it is believed that many shippers and carriers will commonly limit the search to a preferred set of providers of the others' goods or services. Therefore, it is likely that commercial shippers frequently do not obtain the lowest price carrier and, similarly, commercial carriers do not always obtain the highest available prices for their services.
Accordingly, it is believed that many commercial shippers and carriers, being limited in their ability to conduct market-wide searches to find the best prices for their services and orders, will likely employ alternative means to lower their costs and increase their revenues. For example, it is believed that many carriers, after receiving what is subjectively a sufficient number of orders from their usual shipping customers, will attempt to optimize their routing and fleet utilization to execute all of the requested shipping tasks with minimal cost. Similarly, it is believed that commercial shippers will attempt to optimize their distribution and schedule of shipping orders before presenting those orders to the few preferred carriers.
It is likely, however, that these alternative cost reduction methods are generally sub-optimal due, in large part, to the limited scope and limited refresh rate for the information available to each of the shipping and carrier entities. Therefore, it is likely that commercial shippers and receivers neither receive the best prices for their orders and services, nor obtain optimal benefit from their alternative cost reduction methods.
Electronic commerce, on the other hand, of goods and services traded over the internet, including airline tickets, books, music compact discs (CDS) and advertising bulletin boards, has been doubling in volume every year for the last few years. This is based on available surveys, such as Electronic Commerce Survey, The Economist, May 10, 1997.
The electronically traded goods identified above, however, are generally traded as simple fixed offer and acceptance sales, i.e., one party offers the goods or services for a publicized price, and the other party steps forward and accepts the goods or services at that offered price.
The present inventors have identified that commercial shipping and commercial carrier services are not practical or desirable for trading using fixed publically-posted offers or bids. The reasons are manifold. However, an example reason is that the shippers and carriers may not wish their asking prices for their respective goods or services to be known to their competitors. In addition, a large number of descriptors are required to define a particular shipping requirement or a particular carrier route being offered. Further, commercial shipping entities require short-notice response to immediate and sometimes non-recurring shipping needs, which makes fixed offers impractical. Still further, the availability of commercial carriers' routes, i.e., the supply, is sporadic and, coupled with the rapid fluctuations in demand from the shippers, creates rapidly changing supply-demand driven market prices. Existing electronic trading schemes do not meet these requirements.
For these and other reasons, it is believed that commercial shippers and carriers, and related entities such as transportation brokers and arbitrageurs, are not presently making substantial use of a mass electronic information exchange network, such as the internet, for posting, marketing and trading their respective goods and services. It will be understood that directed point-to-point communications, such as confirmations of receipt of goods, and specifically addressed requests-for-quotes, although transmitted by e-mail and the like, are not considered as a "use of the internet" for purposes of this description.